Monster Dash Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

One of these days, I'm not going to have a race report where I look back on what I did wrong. I'll have one of those races where I nailed it and did everything right. Until then, here we go:
This is a fun race that most folks don't really take seriously, more like a social event. I probably never thought I'd say that about a half marathon distance race! With that in mind, it was a little harder to show up, be warmed up and properly stretched, and to have the proper nutrition. And let's not forget running in a costume, which for me meant jeans and a button down, as well as a wig, beard and mustache.
I debated where to start all week leading up to the race. Breaking 2 hours is a major goal of mine right now, however I just did a HIM 6 days prior to this race and was wearing this ridiculous costume that was far from ideal. So I went ahead and started with the 2:05 pace group. I quickly got ahead of them however, my splits for the first 9 miles were;
9:29, 9:22, 9:13, 9:06, 8:54, 9:10, 9:28, 9:40, 9:30
Then I kind of crashed. From there I quickly went up into the high 10's for the rest of the race, eventually walking up a bad hill around mile 11.5. And got passed by the 2:05 pace group around that time as well, and I just had nothing left to join them. I did however find some last minute finish line burst of speed, and ran the last half mile at an 8:30 pace.

Probably could have used one more gel, maybe around the obvious drop in performance at mile 9. And of course not run in jeans, that sucked. More mileage of course will help. The biggest thing I think is that I should have stuck with the 2:05 pacer, or at least tried to stick to an even 9:20ish pace. Dropping down into the high 8's and low 9's like I did probably hurt me more in the end than if I had stayed more consistent. It felt good at the time, but I think I paid for it later.

Walked around the finish gathering my medal and post-race nutrition. Then got in the car and drove back to Mpls. Legs felt really bad after that 15 minute car ride. Then mixed up a bottle full of Vitargo and Glutamine, drove the babysitter home, then walked around Loring Park with the kids, eventually ending up at Dunn Bros which is always good. Walking a few miles did wonders for my legs and it's all good now!


Lack of performance apparel. Maybe some recovery still needed from Austin 70.3.


Regarding the drink stations, there were plenty, but I felt as though they weren't as organized and I had to slow down alot more than I normally do at aid stations. Volunteers didn't have cups ready, or maybe there weren't enough people handing off cups. I'll certainly plan on this race again next year. It's a fun race, good vibe, and well run event.